A wolf in 4K clothing

Utterly compelling and staggeringly pretty.

ByCam SheaDec. 15, 2017, 10:24 a.m.

Update December 14, 2017: Okami HD has been released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, with support for 4K on PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox One X, and PC. It's disappointing that it's locked to 30 frames per second on all systems instead of 60 (or higher), but other than that its gameplay and beautiful art style hold up just as well on modern systems as it did when the review below was written. – Daemon Hatfield

Okami was, without doubt, one of the PlayStation 2’s finest hours. A majestic riff on the Zelda archetype, its sprawling adventure was steeped in traditional Japanese culture, folklore and art, making it one of the most distinct yet holistic titles on the system. Okami HD represents the definitive version of the game, elevating its already incredible art direction to new heights. Simply put, Okami was destined to be played in 1080p 4K, and here it is.

Okami’s world is nothing if not a classical vision of Japan past. Rural life is celebrated, power is centralised in the hands of emperors and kings, tradition is embraced and mystical forces play an active role in the lives of its people. Into this world an ancient evil has awakened, spreading corruption across the land, and the sun goddess Amaterasu - in the form of a wolf - must restore peace and tranquillity.

One of the reasons Okami is such a success is that every element of its design complements every other element. The hand-drawn ink and watercolour styling of its world, for instance, flows elegantly through to its gameplay. It’s no accident that the sky has a thick paper texture and distant mountains are often little more than a few simple ink lines. In Okami, the world itself is a canvas, manipulated through the player’s most valuable tool: the Celestial Brush. Freeze frame the mountain scene I just described and you can draw a circle in the sky to turn night into day, or a crescent to turn day into night.

It’s an unbelievably potent concept, and one that Okami absolutely delivers on. Over the course of the game, Amaterasu learns 13 core brush techniques, and they’re nothing short of magical. By drawing the right icon, players can make dead trees bloom, repair broken bridges and machinery, slow down time and summon gusts of wind, spouts of water, bombs and more. The Celestial Brush mechanic isn’t just a great thematic companion to the art style, but crucial to every aspect of the gameplay.

In the wider world, players use it to solve basic puzzles and get around. Need to traverse a stretch of water? Create a lily pad and hop on, then draw a gust of wind to blow Amaterasu to her destination. Want to get up into a tree? Grapple up there by drawing a line between the flower above it and Amaterasu. It’s the classic Zelda school of game design, where each technique opens up new possibilities for exploration and treasure hunting.

Of course, the Celestial Brush is invaluable in combat too; the exclamation point on Amaterasu’s flurried melee attacks. In these sequences the brush can become a sword that can slice an enemy in half, or a machine gun capable of peppering them with rapid-fire ink bullets. The combat in this game isn’t difficult - and there aren’t many enemies that demand more than rudimentary tactics - but there are some neat touches nonetheless. Some enemies must be attacked from behind with the brush, while others require the player to knock back their projectiles to open them up to attack. You get the idea.

Everywhere you look in Okami, traditional Japanese culture and folklore shines through. Shintoism and its belief in the spirit world permeates the game, while many of the enemy designs are informed by Japanese mythology. Even the societal roles of the world’s inhabitants evoke a classical Japan. Oh, and how many games can you think of where the treasures you find are things like lacquerware sets and incense burners?

It’s all dealt with playfully, however. Amaterasu, for instance, has a delightful duality. At once a powerful goddess, capable of making sweeping changes to the world, she's also in turn a wolf pup, digging into the earth in search of treasure. The brush gods also walk this line, often revealing themselves in bizarre and slapstick cutscenes.

Yes, a rich vein of humour runs throughout Okami – helped along by a sterling translation – and this is best exemplified by the player's travelling companion, the diminutive wandering artist Issun. His role is both expository and comedic; he brings a levity to conversations and provides the perfect yin to the silent protagonist's yang.

Our two leads are joined by some memorable supporting characters too. In fact, while the tale is framed as the sun goddess’ quest to restore the land of Nippon, Amaterasu doesn’t do it alone. The first major portion of the game sees Ammy repeatedly crossing paths with Susano, a descendant of the legendary warrior that – alongside the white wolf Shiranui – slayed the great beast that has now returned. Initially a comedic figure – lazy, something of a drunkard, all pretense but no skill – he eventually becomes far more.

Similarly, Waka is a powerful, mysterious figure with a lightsaber sword and French affectations, who regularly turns up to make enigmatic pronouncements about the future. He’s also not above doing Amaterasu’s job for her. Much of the opening dozen or so hours, for instance, sees Amaterasu restoring Guardian Saplings to full bloom, but when they arrive in the coastal region of North Ryoshima, Waka has already restored its Sapling, reinforcing the fact that Ammy is not the only driving force of this story.

This is a game full of twists and surprises. Over the course of Okami HD, players will venture to an underwater kingdom, go inside the belly of a beast, puppeteer an Emperor, scale an absolutely epic tower, watch a character set off for the stars in a bamboo rocket ship, and so much more. The dungeons are never hugely challenging, but they're satisfying nonetheless. It’s an enormous game too; dozens of hours long for those that want to smell the roses.

As grand and compelling as Okami is, it’s perhaps not as taut in some areas as it could be. Cutscenes can drag on a little, for instance, while the camera – particularly during combat – isn’t always the player’s friend. There’s almost too much to collect, as well, and while ‘praise’ (earned by completing tasks, restoring the world and feeding animals you come across) helps players expand core attributes, and money (earned by defeating monsters and selling treasure) can be used to buy new moves and items, the game’s power-ups add little. You simply won’t need these – or even think to use them – in the vast majority of combat scenarios, and so discovering them in treasure chests across the land is something of a letdown. You can always sell them, of course.

It’s also worth pointing out a few minor issues with the presentation. First though, I really do need to underline that as a whole Okami HD is jaw-droppingly pretty. Its minimal, artistic aesthetic translates incredibly well to 1080p and looks absolutely phenomenal. There are countless flourishes that add appreciably to the experience as well, such as the shifting colours of the plants and flowers that spring up behind Amaterasu as she gains speed. That said, it’s a shame the pop-in wasn’t pushed back in this version. Players still can’t see more minor objects in the environment until they get relatively close. You’ll also occasionally see brightly coloured polygonal base character models in the world from a distance. It’s only a momentary thing before the character’s texture pops in, but it happens.

Finally, as you’d expect, Okami HD incorporates Move functionality, but why you’d choose to play this way I’m not sure. Yes, there’s greater responsiveness to the brush movements, but the upshot is that it’s actually harder to use. Slashing at an enemy with the brush, for instance, requires the player to draw a straight line through the enemy in question, and this is easier with the analogue stick than a highly sensitive motion controller.

You’ll certainly adapt to the Move controls, but everything is either slightly less intuitive or slightly clunkier. Using the D-pad or a combination of the square button/motion to manipulate the camera, for instance, is awkward – particularly in combat, while the button layout simply isn’t as user friendly. My advice – ignore Move and stick to a pad.

The Verdict

Okami is one of the finest games to come out of Japan in the last decade, and Okami HD is absolutely the best way to experience this epic adventure. Its re-release is rather timely too, given Japanese game publishers are currently preoccupied with creating games that will appeal in the West. Okami, in contrast, represents a pure, resolutely Japanese vision, and is all the more appealing for it.